April 12 2012
A Kingswinford company which is one of the world’s leading suppliers of
simulation and cutting edge technology for the entertainment industry has
created six jobs as business continues to boom.
Simworx, based on the Pensnett Trading Estate, is budgeted to turn over
£5m in 2012.
The company, which has provided media-based installations to theme parks
and visitor attractions across the UK, has secured a raft of recent contracts.
The firm has continued to expand after receiving funding from leading West
Midlands venture capital firm Midven, through its Exceed – Midlands
Advantage fund.
The continued expansion has meant six additional jobs have been created in
its sales, project management and engineering departments.
The company has become one of the world’s leading providers of simulation
and 4D technology – with high profile installations to Drayton Manor Theme
Park, The Beatles Story, in Liverpool, the London Science Museum, and two
attractions in the major French Theme Park, Futuroscope.
New contracts recently secured include supplying a 49-seat 4D motion
theatre in Indonesia, and a 4D special effects, motion simulation attraction
at a major science museum in Denmark – which sprays water, bubbles and
air onto its audience, as part of the “Edutainment” experience.
Simworx has won a contract to supply its new product, the “Immersive
Tunnel” to a theme park near Rome. The tunnel is a 90-seater moving
“tram” which immerses riders with a 360 degree 3D projection system and a
custom-made 3D film.
The company has also sold 3D and 4D cinemas to Turkey, Cyprus and
Vietnam.
4D technology combines a 3D theatre with the experience enhanced by a
fourth dimension of ‘sensory’ effects incorporated into the seating or within
the theatre. New “5D” theatres, developed by Simworx, also include seats
which can tilt forwards, backwards, left and right.
Simworx managing director Terry Monkton said the company was at a very
exciting stage. “Having installed extensively across the UK, we are now truly
a world player,” he said.
“Demand is increasing, people want new and unique experiences and what
we are able to provide is precisely that – selling to amusement parks,
museums, zoos, aquariums, space centres and family entertainment
centres.”
Simworx has been helped by Midven over a number of years. Surjit Kooner,
investment director at Midven, said: “We have seen it as an excellent
investment as the company has continued to grow, and we have been able
to help by funding an expansion in its development and sales operations.
They will continue to pursue opportunities in what is an expanding sector.”